The Akiridion-5 Chronicles
by NightwingNinja17
Summary: Join Aja and Krel as we journey with them as they grow up on Akiridion-5. There will be chaos, some brother/sister shenanigans, and overall some great fun! So come along for the ride!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So, I'm writing this story because right now I'm having writer's block on my main story. This one however is going to be a series of short stories, centered around Aja and Krel's life before we meet them in the series. Basically, before they crash land on earth. This will be all head cannon stuff I've had in my head. Answering questions like how did Morando get banished or how did Krel take a liking to technology? This will be in no particular order, but this is just my way of answering questions that I've had on Aja and Krel's past since it's not really mentioned outside the context of the series.**

 **There will be a slight cannon divergence. I'm pretending that Aja and Krel's ages are like two and a half years apart. Since it is stated in the 3-Below Wiki that they are a year apart in age in their human forms. This will just help some of the stories I plan on writing flow better and make more sense (for me at least).**

 **This is more for me just to get these ideas out of my head, so requests are welcomed. I will NOT however be writing anything from the main series as there are two other stories already in this format that are tackling that. So, if you are to make a suggestion, please cater it to before the series.**

 **So, with that all being said, let's get on with the story!**

 **Chapter 1: The Baby Is Here**

It was as if new light had entered the palace. The servants were all more alive than they had been before. Not only was there new light, there was a new life that just entered the world of Akiridion-5.

It had been known across the whole planet that Queen Coranda was pregnant with their second child. They didn't know whether or not it would be a boy or girl at the time of the planetary announcement, but they didn't care anyway. They would be happy either way.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Princess Aja Tarron walked quickly behind her father. She was having a hard time keeping up. Shorter toddler legs not being able to keep up with her father's massive ones.

"You know why." Fialkov, King of Akiridion-5, noticed his daughter struggling to keep up. He smiled and turned around, kneeling to her level and cupping her chin in his hands, "Your special someone is here!"

"He's here?" Aja perked at the mention of that special someone finally arriving.

"He is," Fialkov picked Aja up and continued his trek forward, keeping Aja occupied by telling her to count all the servants that they say hi to on their journey.

They wound their way through the many corridors, the simple entertaining exercise became more of a competition between father and daughter. The race was who can say hi to the most servants by the time that they arrived at their destination.

It seemed like an eternity for Aja who was excited beyond belief. She was practically bouncing in her father's arms as they continued on their path toward the new-comer. Once they were finally there, there was only a door separating them from the people within.

"We're here!" Aja was placed on the floor once more, allowing her to walk on her own two legs freely as before. Fialkov knelt down once again and met Aja's blue-eyed gaze with his own, "How many did you say hi to?"

Aja stuck out her tongue as she used her fingers to count. She came to the conclusion that she had said hi to fifteen servants after some careful thought and deliberation.

"Ah! It looks like you beat me!" Fialkov tussled Aja's hair much to her distaste.

"Hey!" Aja pushed her dad's hand away playfully.

Then they both burst out into a fit of laughter.

Fialkov took Aja's small hands in his and opened the door, leading her inside.

"We need to be quiet, okay? He might be asleep!" Aja peered up at her dad and smiled. She then put both of her pointer fingers from both of her right hands on her mouth signaling that she had heard him.

They first entered a small room just inside the door. It was ornately covered in the rich and light blues of the royals. On one wall sat a holographic tapestry depicting the family tree of the current royals. Aja knew it well as her father often told her stories of the people shown on it.

But what really peeked Aja's interest was down toward the bottom where her picture was, she saw another circle, not yet filled, but brightened as if a new face was soon to appear inside of it. From what she could remember, her father said that the image of the new royal would appear on it at a ceremony that was to be held three days after his or her birth.

So that means in three days, she would see the depiction of her soon to be new friend on the tapestry.

They opened a second set of doors, much bigger than the last and also much more elaborate than the previous ones. The room within was large, with a small amount light pouring in from a massive set of windows on the other side. The curtains were partially drawn in lending itself to a much darker setup inside.

The opposite wall from where Fialkov and Aja stood, sat a bed, and within that bed sat Queen Coranda. Or more affectionately called by Aja…

"Mom!" Aja swiftly walked over to the side of the bed closest to her mother and peered up at her from the edge of the bed. She saw a bundle of something wrapped snuggly in her mom's arms but couldn't make out what it was.

"Hi, sweetheart!" Coranda reached out a hand and stroked Aja's face, "Did you have fun with dad?"

"I did! We played a game where we tried to say hi to as many servants as we could, and I won!" Aja bounced in place with energetic glee.

"Did you now?" Coranda's gaze tracked up to her husband and she smiled.

"She is a fast one!" Fialkov walked to where he was now behind Aja. He lifted her up to where she now sat right next to Coranda on the bed.

Aja was confused at first though when she finally got a better look at what was in her mother's arms. It was small, and it didn't move. But she could see small tufts of hair sticking out from the top of it. It was electric blue in color and glowed slightly.

"Hey Aja," The king sat on the edge of the bed a pointed toward the bundle in Coranda's arms, "Meet your new brother, Krel."

The blanket was taken away from his body slightly, revealing a small face underneath. He squirmed as the cooler air of the room met his warm body but didn't fuss.

"Krel?" Aja repeated his name and then looked up toward her mother for confirmation.

"Yes," She smiled back at her, "His name is Krel."

Aja scooted closer to her mother's side watching her brother with a great intensity. She reached out and gently took a part of the blanket her mom had taken away from his tiny body. Aja then reached to touch one of his four hands that had appeared from within the confines of the blanket.

"Would you like to hold him?" Aja stared between her mother and the baby and then shook her head yes.

Fialkov positioned Aja next to Coranda in a manner to which both Coranda and himself could help her if she needed to. Then Aja watched as her mother gently laid the bundle in her arms, showing her how to hold him in the process.

More of his small body appeared from behind the blanket, revealing his four arms and small core within. Aja noticed that his core looked a lot like hers, the only difference was that his was upside down.

But then the squirming picked up pace, but once again no fuss. It was then that two small blue eyes opened up looking straight at Aja.

"Daddy, he's awake!" Aja gave a quiet cry in excitement.

Fialkov smiled as he extended a finger out to Krel. The baby stared up at Aja and then let out a yawn. He then continued to stare up at his big sister as he drifted off to sleep.

"What do you think?" Coranda took Krel from Aja's arms, but not once did she break her daughter's gaze.

"I love him," Aja moved over and snuggled into her dad's arms. Looking over her shoulder, she watched Krel yawn once more then drift off to sleep.

"One day you'll have to teach him the game where you two say high to the servants," Fialkov rested his chin on the top her head and held her close.

Aja smiled and sighed in contentment, watching with excitement as her baby brother slept on. Prince Krel Tarron had finally arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just wanted to remind everyone that I am not sticking to a timeline, other than it all happens before the show does. So just keep that in mind as you read this chapter. I may later on down the road put it in order, but just for right now and for my sanity, I'm not going to.**

 **Chapter 2: Kidnapping at Point Tarron (Part 1)**

It had been known for a while that the royals of Akiridion-5 were some of the most protected royalty in the known galaxies. Ever since their children grew old enough to go outside the walls of the castle, there were always a patrol or some sort of guardian force around them.

The king and queen themselves had been given an obscene amount of death threats during their reign so far and now that they had kids, they would be perfect targets for any hunter out there wanting to get at the royals. Just one slip of security or lapse in attention could allow an attacker in at any time.

This protective force was led by Val Morando, current commander of the Taylon Phalanx. He was of House Morando, one of the more prestigious houses. These smaller houses weren't technically royal, but most of the commanding officers of the military came from such houses. But House Morando was one of the more prestigious houses. Lending itself to many officers of the military as well as well respected members of the royal council.

And Val wasn't afraid to show off that he was from such a house. He let his position as commander and friend to the king and queen go to his head often. He quite often showed off, even when teaching the royal children how to fight.

But every great defense has an equal or greater opponent.

Today of all days was one of those days.

"Keep your sword raised higher, Prince Krel!" Morando took the four hands of the ten-year-old Prince and raised them slightly, allowing his serrator blade to become more fluent with his body. "This will give you better cover for your head, core and torso."

Krel winced as the volume of his words grew louder. They had been at this for hours, but it wasn't until someone important came into the training hall that it because intense.

He glanced over and saw General Oren Akraohm, his grandpapa, standing a good distance away watching Morando with a keen gaze. Krel had heard that Morando was possibly up for a promotion, due to the fact that Grandpapa Oren wanted to step down from his position within the Akiridion Military.

They often used these training sessions Morando did with himself and Aja as methods of deciding on who to promote, demote or simply keep put. It was strange to Krel that this time of all times would be the one they would choose for such a task as that, but he wasn't king yet, so the rules for the time being were beyond his comprehension anyway.

"Now swing at the dummy again, but after you follow through come right back to this position," Krel did as he was told and swung his blade toward a holographic dummy made solid by amazing Akiridion technology. His blade hit its target and then Krel instinctively maneuvered himself to the position he started in.

"I did it!" Krel raised his top arms in the air in pure excitement.

"Very good Krel!" Oren had walked up and tussled some of Krel's already messed up hair, "I think you're getting the hang of this!"

"You really think so?" Krel quickly worked his hair back to its somewhat messed up state.

"I know so! Think of it this way, for someone who likes computers more than serrators, I say you've learned remarkably fast," Oren's two left hands found its way to Krel's right shoulder.

Krel just beamed as he sheathed the blade.

"Commander Morando, a word if you don't mind," Oren and Morando walked away leaving Krel in the middle of the training grounds by himself.

Krel practiced a few more times before wandering over to a water barrel to grab a drink of water. He felt exhausted but invigorated at the same time. As the prince, it was his duty to learn as much as he could both in intellect, but also in combat. As much as Krel hated fighting, he always had room to be praised by his grandfather.

He felt he earned a good rest out on a bench in the training grounds. He saw that Morando and grandpapa were far off deep in conversation. Krel grabbed one more cup full of water and then sat down. He pulled a holoscreen out of his back pocket, the images that flitted across gave Krel much joy.

They were of him and his sister Aja in many adventures throughout Akiridion. The most recent adventure being a festival out in the capital city square. They had mainly showed up because their father had been asked to speak at a gala event happening that evening but that wasn't the only reason.

There were booths filled with all sorts of goodies everywhere, toys were strewn about and most of all they had a vast array of technological masterminds trying to sell their trinkets to the next unsuspecting victim. This Krel loved as he got to explore them.

But back in this reality, Krel was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice a figure walking his way.

"Well hello handsome," a voice Krel didn't recognize, "Fancy seeing you here!"

Krel whirled around and found a strange looking creature, not looking like it came from here on Akiridion-5, standing in front of was someone Krel had never seen before.

It was tall and skinny, with pointed ears much like a cat like creature he heard tales of. It's fur was a dark brown with black tips. It's long tail curled with slight agitation as if it was eyeing its prey.

But that didn't last long when he felt on hand clamp over his mouth, and a sharp pain erupting into his neck and shoulder. He couldn't shout for help, he couldn't even speak. The only noise coming from the young prince was muffled groans as the concoction of whatever was inside the sharp object began to take effect.

Krel felt his body grow weaker and weaker to the point where he dropped the cup. It shattered across the floor beneath their feet. His eyes were too heavy to keep open and soon his whole body began to fall to its clutches.

Finally, comfortable he wouldn't try anything, the creature holding him hostage let go. But being weak did have its consequences as Krel collapsed to the ground in a heap of arms and legs.

"There, there little Prince. You rest easy!" The creature stroked Krel's face much to Krel's displeasure. He tried to squirm out of they way and call for help but was only met with a large hand pressing him into the ground and clamping his mouth shut. Once again, another sharp pain hit Krel's neck and not soon after he was sound asleep.

"Quickly before the two officers find us!"

The one who previously held Krel, roughly picked him up and threw the limp prince over his shoulder.

"Boss man will pay us good money for the prince! Let alone what kind of money we'll make when we send a ransom note to this one's parents!' The first of the group of hunters did a little dance even when he was running.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Three. We haven't successfully captured him till we reach our ship."

But they managed to do so, their ship being on the far outskirts of the palace.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Well, I think you've done a good job training my grandchildren. I think I'll consider you highly for the new position."

"Thank you, sir," Morando bowed slightly at this.

"Now I'm going to end this trading session short. I was actually sent here to fetch Krel for a gala fitting."

But when they both turned around, Krel wasn't there. They knew he was well behaved and wouldn't run off without first letting them know. So either he was hiding or something more sinister had happened.

"Krel, if you're hiding come on out!" Oren walked over to where they last saw Krel and found nothing but a shattered cup.

He called again but no answer came. Fear started to run through both Morando and Oren's minds.

"You don't think someone came in and grabbed him do you?" Morando looked around as he asked the question. Surely there was some sign that Krel was just hiding.

Their worst fears however were confirmed when they found a serrator sitting on the ground not far from where the shattered cup lay. They walked up to it and saw that it was indeed Krel's serrator.

"No!" Oren retrieved it from its resting place, "Morando send out search parties to.."

"General Akraohm, theres a message for you in the retrieval room," a servant who looked not much older than Krel, ran to meet them.

Oren wasted no time in following the servant there. It was busy as intelligence officers and other servants busied themselves with incoming messages to the King and Queen. But this one was most important, and this was for Oren.

"Patch it through!" Oren nodded to communications officer closest to him.

"Greetings General Akraohm. I think I may have something you lost," and in the screen Krel appeared, knocked out but otherwise unharmed. Another one of the hunters was holding him like a baby, keeping him close as if he was using Krel as a shield.

"Krel!" Oren and Morando shouted toward the screen simultaneously.

"Hurt one hair on his head and I'll make sure you never see the light of day again!" Oren pointed toward the hologram. He watched his grandson, waiting for him to do something that would quell his fears of him being dead. But he couldn't get a good look.

"Don't worry, we won't harm him. But I can't say the same thing about our boss," The hunter up front and center sneered, "Send a message to King Fialkov that if he wants to see his son alive again, he'd better call us within the next few horvaths otherwise, who knows what will happen to the prince."

And with that the call ended.

"We aren't going to negotiate with those criminals are we?" Morando rounded the table to walk right beside the General.

"For the time being no, but it's not my call to make." Oren began to swiftly walk toward the entrance of the retrieval room, "we need to get to Fialkov and tell him what is going on."

It took them a while before they located Fialkov, Krel's father and the king of Akiridion-5, sitting in a council meeting. The meeting consisted of one representative from every house that consisted of Akiridion nobility. Each memeber either represented an industry such as robotics or agriculture to military might. And at its head was the king, presiding over the preceding a.

It was there that they found Fialkov, looking rather bored at the antics of the others in the room. Oren walked in and stood by the door flanked also by Morando.

Seeing them standing there, Fialkov gestured for them to walk fully in. This temporarily interrupted the meeting.

"What is it? Or have you come to join us this time?" Fialkov smiled at the pair but when he noticed their serious faces he grew concerned.

"My liege," Oren said as loud as he could. He knew he didn't have to be formal when he was with Fialkov, due to the fact that they were family, but since there were others in the room who would look down on this as a sign of a lapse in judgement, he remained cordial, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Murmurs from the other officials in the room echoed throughout the chamber. Fialkov had, at this point, all but stood up.

"What is the news Oren?" Fialkov urges him to continue.

"Your son, Prince Krel, has been kidnapped."

The murmurs grew louder.

"What? How did this happen?" You could heat the worry emanating from his voice.

"We don't know. It happened after my training session with him today," It was Morando's turn to speak.

Fialkov returned to his seat and rubbed his face with worry.

"The creature that captured him asked us to tell you that you need to contact them in the next few horvaths or else Krel might not remain safe for much longer."

Silence ensued. Even the murmuring coming from the other members of the council had silenced. They all looked between the two officers of the Taylon Phalanx to their king.

"Patch him through to this room," Fialkov gestured to the table before them. In the middle of the table, closest to Fialkov, sat a small device used to project holograms. These were mainly used when a member of the council couldn't be there in person.

But today, they were going to be used for a completely different reason.

Morando came over and placed a small chip like device inside the projector. A small like appeared before a figure walked into view, smirking the whole way.

" _King Fialkov! How nice it is for you to join us_!" The creature smiled once a mask he had been wearing was removed.

"Zeron Carnix! I should have known it was your foul stench I smelled," Fialkov had all but stood up, leaving the confines of the chair and resorted to stand partially over the table.

" _Come now! That's no way to treat and old friend! Especially when I hold all the cards here!_ " The Zeron ran his clawed hands together to emphasize the point.

"Where is my son?" The king slammed his fists down on the table, all of the council members listening in jumped at the sound.

And within moments, another creature everyone had assumed was another Zeron walked into the viewing area of the hologram. In his arms was cradled a small figure covered loosely with a blanket.

" _He's right here! Sound asleep, he was when we caught him!_ " The creature walked over and the tip of his claw across Krel's arms.

"What do you want?" This particular Zeron did a missions that required something of Fialkov.

" _What I want is 50 million Crestons, followed by a seat on your council. The planet of Zerus-X must be recognized by the ruling council as an equal partner in the the governance of the systems."_

The murmurs from the council members resumed. The thought of allowing a person from a known criminal planet into the council, did not bode well for its members.

" _I'll give you 12 horvaths to respond, or else the prince here won't see the morning._ "

And the transmission ended at its source.

"You aren't going to bend to his demands are you?" The council man from House Kretoni on Planet Syrusis. He was one of a few council members who hated the throne of Akiridion to look weak when faced with terrorists or people who would do things to spite the ruling members of society.

"If my son's life is in danger, I'll do whatever it takes!" Fialkov hit the table extremely hard, that cups on the other side of the rectangular table shook with the vibrations, "You would do well to know, that he will be the next ruler of this planet one day! And even be over you. If we don't bend every once in a while to demands of criminals, especially ones that have my own flesh and blood held hostage, then are we any better than them? If we let one of our own die it's like we ourselves our killing them. Not the other way around!"

"I know how you feel! I can't tell you how many times my own children were taken from me and demands like this were made. I will back you whatever you decide!" Kiara Hourus from the planet Owleon spoke up at the same time she stood up. She had understood where King Fialkov was coming from as her own kids had been kidnapped numerous times as not only a political ploy but also a personal one.

Many other members stood up in agreement. The only ones not standing up was were the members who were stickler for not giving into terrorists.

"Thank you. The council is dismissed at this time. I'll let you know what I decide."

Everyone stood up and let the room. The only two people who remained were Oren and Morando.

"We'll find him. The next time you call we'll trace it." Oren put his arm on Fialkov's shoulder.

All Fialkov could do was nod. All three of them left the room, but Morando lagged behind just a bit. He smirked. He had Fialkov right where he wanted him. He wanted the council members to see him as a weak ruler. That way maybe someone new would be appointed.

But for the time being, Morando was content in waiting for the right moment to strike.

And he knew it was coming


	3. Chapter 3

**So I just wanted to let you know a few things on this chapter before you read it. First of all, it's going to be long. I thought by splitting it up into two parts that I could make it all fit, but boy was I wrong! Hope you don't mind that it's long!**

 **Second of all, in this chapter, I'm going to mention injuries sustained as if they are like humans. I know that Akiridions are all energy based beings, but for the sake of not knowing much about their species of alien, I'm writing injuries based on what I know of them. This may or may not be the best interpretation of it, but I hope you don't mind.**

 **And third, there will be mentions of blood and some injuries in this chapter. So, if you're squeamish or just don't like reading about stuff like this then you've been warned!**

Also **Steuart Smelly... what did you mean by almost 100% accurate? there arent any other stoies like this nor is there any information on how they lived before the events of the show so there is nothing to base this whole story off of. this is ourely my imagination and as stated in the first chapter is purely head canon. If any of this axtually shows up in the show I'd be surprised.**

 **And othe gues who i cant remeber a name right now, i unfortunately cant add images to this site other than the story cover. Wish i could show you what i think baby Krel would look like, but i cant.**

 _ **2 hours later...**_

It was like his mind was swimming upstream as he awoke. It was like he had just woken up from the best night's sleep he ever got. He genuinely felt rested and a refreshed as if he had been at home.

But he wasn't at home.

The moment Krel opened his eyes, he grew terrified. The memories of the sharp pain in the side of his neck followed by collapsing in the arms of a stranger was enough to wake him up fully.

He blinked his eyes a few times, taking in his surroundings as he did so.

Krel saw that he was in a small cabin in the middle of what appeared to be a ship. He could feel the rumble of what he assumed were the engines underneath his feet.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. In his ten years of life there wasn't one day where he had been captured by someone other than his sister or his parents.

"Well, lookie whose awake?" The same voice that had alerted him to the presence of the intrusion out on the training grounds, now came back to tease him again, "The little Prince must have been tired."

Krel just threw a look his way. One saying "quit mocking me" and "you're messing with the wrong people".

"Good! You know how to hold your tongue," The creature reached for Krel and forced him to stand. Krel realIzed that he was extremely wobbly on his feet, stumbling across the cabin as if he was a baby learning how to walk. He then put one free hand on his head, trying to quell the dizziness that accompanied standing too fast.

Krel was yanked into the main cockpit where he was firmly placed in a chair. The safety straps was firmly placed across his chest and torso. The creature then went about handcuffing Krel's four arms to each other. He used cuffs that had an ionic latch system, lending itself to its powerful magnetic abilities.

Once all four of his arms were cuffed, however, they were then also strapped to the seat's armrests. He wasn't going to go anywhere that was certain.

 _"You've got him secure?"_ A third voice was distorted and holographic in its sound. The person on the other end didn't want anyone to know their true identities.

"Yes we do. He just woke up," the second of the two creatures who captured him appeared, spun in his chair to face Krel. He had a small holographic device in his hands, showing a hooded figure on the other side. (Add More Here!)

Krel felt his core begin to beat harder as the nerves finally settled in. He stared at the hooded figure, not once losing focus.

" _Excellent_!" The cadence of this figure's voice sounded familiar to Krel but unsure how that was, he let it slide for the time being.

"About our payment?" The second figure snarled.

" _Half of it has already been sent to you via the holobank. The other half will be sent to you once the job is complete."_

The creature who had drugged him looked upon a screen that Krel couldn't see and nodded in confirmation.

"What's the plan then?"

" _If his father doesn't meet your demands here in the next two or three horvaths, do whatever you want to him. But make sure that you send a holographic video of it whatever you do."_

Krel felt his world close around him. They were using him to get at his father? This wasn't making any sense. These demands that they were talking about were what?

"Will do," And the hologram shut off, leaving the two with a frightened Krel.

They both looked straight at him and he back at them. Neither wanted to speak, but it was evident that there was something in the air that needed to be said.

Krel didn't know what that was. He just sat there, pinned to the chair, trying his best not to cry and show his weakness to the two in front of him. He didn't want to give them one more reason to harm him.

So he decided that he would stare at his lap until he could think straight.

"Aww! Is the little prince afraid?" The creature sitting in the pilot's chair came over and knelt in front of Krel, trying to reach his gaze.

"I am not afraid of you!" Krel used all the courage he could muster to speak that sentence.

The two Zerons in the room just laughed.

"Well you should be," the kneeling one procured a small knife from its scabbard attached to his belt. He first waved it in front of himself, but the lightly traced the shape of Krel's core on Krel's body.

Krel stiffened. The tears began to fall, worst case scenarios running through his mind.

He couldn't move away, he just felt the light pressure of the knife near his chest and core.

"I think he is afraid!" The Zeron standing behind the one in front of him pointed a finger toward Krel.

"You'd better hope that father of yours calls soon," The Zeron kneeling, stood up and smiled at Krel in a manner that made him uncomfortable, "Or else you're dead meat."

With that, the second Zeron walked to Krel's right and once again hit him with the concoction from before. Krel felt his world swim and then die into non-existence once again.

 _ **Back at the palace...**_

"What do you plan on doing?" Coranda sat on the edge of her seat in the kitchen. She watched as Fialkov, her husband paced the floor in front of her. They had been sitting in the kitchen, allowing twelve year old Aja to eat, while they worked on figuring out what to do.

"I don't know," Fialkov stopped to rub his head, "If I don't bend, then I could be sentencing our son to death. If I do bend, however, there would be prominent members of the council who would see me as weak."

He eventually huffed his way over to a stool, sitting rather roughly between his daughter and his wife.

"There has to be a way, where we can give them what they want and simultaneously prove to the council that you're not weak," Coranda ran one of her two right hands up and down Fialkov's second left arm.

"The only thing I can think of, is give him what he wants, but use it as a cover to take him into custody," Fialkov turned to where he was facing the table they were all sitting around. He watched as the cooks busied themselves with the day's duties.

"Daddy! Look! I made a donut out of bread!" Aja held the piece of bread up to her face, and looked through it at her dad.

This eased the tension on his face eased a bit and he chuckled slightly. Even at twelve years old, Aja still had a very childish sense of humor.

"Very funny Aja. Now what did I tell you about playing with your food?" Fialkov stood up and walked over to where he was standing behind Aja. She peered up at him through her bread, smile evident on her face though it was hidden behind it.

"Don't do it?" Aja pulled the piece of bread off of her face.

"Right," He started to tickle her, her infectious giggles filled the room, "Now go wash up!"

"Okay!" Aja left without argument.

"How are we going to tell her Krel is missing?" the list of things Fialkov was worried about started to grow.

"We won't. We'll just tell her he's visiting friends for the night," The queen stood up to face her husband, "We need to make sure that she doesn't run about the castle on her own anyway."

Fialkov just sighed.

"None of this bodes well with me." He just shook his head.

"I know. That's why I suggest that we do this fast."

"I think I know what I'm to do."

Fialkov marched all the way back to the council room. He sent a secure message to the entire council and then stood ready for the holograms to appear of the officials that have long since returned to their homes.

"Hello councilmen and women, I have a proposal to retrieve my son that I want to run by you."

 _ **Another t**_ _ **wo and a half hours later...back on the ship...**_

Soft, terrified cries could be heard throughout the back cabin of the ship. It was the roomiest of the compartments of the ship, so the two Zerons used it to do their dirty work on poor Krel.

Krel, who was now sobbing in a corner opposite from where the two Zerons sat staring at their captive as if he was prey. He was cry, because true to their word he had been hurt.

His nose sported a lovely gash that ran from the top of his left eyebrow, all the way across his nose, and ended right at his right cheekbone. It ached as the bruising from broken bone underneath, made the sight a ghastly one. His left eye also started to swell as the broken bones in both his cheek and his nose caused blood to rush to this areas. Krel also felt light headed and dizzy, due to the fact that the two hunters consistently punched his head in various spots throughout the whole ordeal if he tried to fight back.

Outside of those wounds, most were superficial. On any of his exposed skin, there were more bruises, shallow cuts and abrasions.

That's why Krel was crying. He was not one to have a high pain tolerance when it came to personal injuries. Even though his wounds remained small in number, they hurt like nothing Krel had ever experienced before. Any movement of his cheek or inhale of air, caused his whole face to hurt and from the punches, any movement of his head caused his entire skull to ache as if his head was about to fall off.

"Well, it's almost time again!" Zeron 1, as Krel began calling him in his mind, stood up and stared at the little Akiridion royal scrunched up in a ball in an attempt to make himself smaller.

"Oh goody!" Zeron 2 jumped in place causing vibrations to reverberate through out the raised floor of the ship, "Better hope you're cooperative this time!"

Zeron 2 cracked his knuckles with unhindered glee. Krel noticed this and once again tried to make himself as small as possible, but simultaneously try and protect his face and head from any further onslaught.

Zeron 1 didn't care however, he just found a way to grab Krel by the back of his neck and pull him up to where his feet no longer touched the ground. Krel tried desperately to kick at his opponent, hoping that one swing of his leg would cause the hunter creature to drop him. But nothing worked.

Despair had all but crept into Krel's mind as he spied the second Zeron move to where he was now facing Krel in front of him. A video camera began to roll behind him.

"Greetings Akiridion high council!" He turned to the camera, "You know that we have the young prince here! Let's see how long he can take this."

And without warning, he swung his fists toward Krel and it landed on his stomach.

Krel felt the wind leave as his body desperately struggled to regain control of his breathing. A second punch seemed to do the trick; a strangled sob echoing throughout the chamber.

A third punch and Krel felt his ribs give way to the bony fingers of the two ruthless creatures who had a hold of him.

"We need your answer now!" One final blow was made to the middle of Krel's stomach, "Or else."

The hold on Krel's neck was released and he collapsed to the ground, coughing as he tried to gain some semblance of control over his breathing once more.

The steps of the Zeron who had just been punching once again reverberated throughout the floor that Krel hadn't gotten up off of as he walked to turn the camera off. He just sat on the floor, dazed, silently taking inventory of his new injuries.

But all three heads whipped toward the direction of the cockpit when a beeping sound came through from it.

"It's the coms hub," Zeron 1, who had held Krel in place, moved in the general direction of the door, "I'll be back."

The door hissed shut, trapping Krel in with Zeron 2 who had done all the damage. Krel had lifted his knees up to his chest, despite the protesting injuries, and wrapped all four arms around them. A lone tear, found its way down his face. The mix of fear, pain and delusion that he would be stuck in this ship with these two for a while longer causing the emotions to come clear.

"Hey! No more crying!" Krel heard the hunter's footsteps before he saw him and soon he was sprawled on his left side by a not so gentle kick.

"I'm sorry! I can't help it!" Krel lifted his two right arms to shield himself from more attacks.

"Of course you can't." The faint whisper of an annoyed voice, entered Krel's mind.

But then the two froze as the ship was suddenly moving. Something must have happened that caused Zeron 1 to begin its flight path to who knows where.

Then said Zeron walked in smiling.

"We got ourselves a deal!" He spoke too loudly for Krel's pounding head, "The high council has agreed to our terms! King Fialkov is meeting us on Desatis-2 to make the exchange of money, a seat on the council and for his son."

Once more, Zeron 2 was bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Yes! It's about time they gave us an answer!"

"Now what to do with you in the meantime."

As the time went on during their travel to Desatis, Krel became the wall to which the battering rams known as the Zerons' fists rammed into. He was helpless to defend it. His training as a fighter had just begun. None of his training even touched on defense without his blade.

As quickly as the ship started on its course, the ship stopped. They must have made it to their destination.

Krel was hauled to his feet rather roughly once the ship docked to somewhere on the planet. Hands were then promptly cuffed. All four of them strapped together and then strapped to a long set of chains carried by the two hunters.

Desatis-2 wasn't known for its pretty sights. It was a wasteland with little to no water or any life for that matter. The only cities that populated this planet were near the only living patches of life that were few and far between. Unlike its sister planets that was teeming with vegetation and other living things, this made a trash bin look mild.

The ramp to the Zerons' ship lowered to reveal they landed on a flat plateau of blue grey dirt. They walked out onto the desolate landscape, out into the unknown.

The three of them walked two yards from the Zerons' ship and waited. Zeron 1 forced Krel to sit, to prevent him from trying to escape. As they waited, Krel played with the handcuffs. It was a strange set of cuffs. There were no visible locks or intertwining pieces of metal. All he could tell was that it was held together by something almost magnetic like. Krel could pull his hands apart, but only slightly as the clinked back into place every time.

"Hey you! Stop it!" Which earned him a whack on the back of his head. Krel's headache exploded, adding to the already throbbing mind.

But all their attention was soon averted to the sky. The sound of an incoming ship, broke through the lifeless silence that Desatis brought. Krel felt his heart grow with excitement.

His father had finally come for him!

The royal ship landed on the other side of the plateau. The ramp leading to the inside lowered to reveal General Oren, Commander Morando, Lieutenant Varvatos Vex and four other guards flanked Fialkov. He was wearing his armor that he only used on the most dire circumstances.

Krel grew even more excited at the sight of his father's form. He used to be intimidated by his father wearing armor, but in this instant, it was a welcomed sight to behold.

"King Fialkov! How nice of you to join us!" Krel just looked forward. He met his father's gaze and gave him a small smile that only he would notice. He saw his father smile, but was laced with some concern, back at him and then return his gaze to his captors.

"We have what you wanted, now return my son to me or else!" Fialkov's booming voice echoed through the expanse of the plateau. The four guards that accompanied him lowered their weapons ready for whatever Fialkov would order them to do.

"Sure thing, your highness!" Zeron 1 looked between Krel and the other Akiridions in the vicinity, "You first! Bring us the money and the agreement!"

Morando carried a small blue case toward the duo. He pretended he was angry until he drew close and then he smiled at the duo. He had finished what he set out to do.

Rise common criminals to the ranks of the council.

"The agreement is in the case along with the money," Morando spoke loud enough for the Akiridion crew to hear him, "Now the prince!"

Krel looked up at Commander Morando worried look on his swollen and injured face. Morando looked down at him and gave Krel a warm smile.

Zeron 2 bent down and grabbed the closest of Krel's arms and pulled him up. He then pushed Krel into Morando's arms. Morando held the young prince close, looking him over from what the parts that he could see.

Morando turned to walk with Krel back toward the royal party. They got a quarter of the way back, before the Zerons hollered back at him.

"Morando!" As soon as Morando and Krel turned around to look at them, they both fired weapons hidden to everyone until just now. Both weapons firing shots of some sort that no one had ever seen before.

"Krel! Get down!" Krel's gaze returned to his father, hearing the words before he could register what was going on.

But it was too late.

The blasts hit Krel's right shoulder and the other hit his left. Krel stood for a few seconds stunned, before falling into Morando's arms weakly.

"Hey! Stay with me bud!" Krel's eyes met Morando's a small smile flitting across his face. Morando smiled back down at him and used his two massive hands to help Krel sit up slightly. The movement however caused more discomfort and as quickly as he had been shot, he had fallen unconscious.

"No!" Fialkov rushed to meet Morando as he knelt down to the ground. The guards flanking the king moved to apprehend the hunters. A firefight ensued prompting Oren and Vex to raise their shields as the king and Morando tended to Krel.

"My liege, the plan has gone belly up. You need to get yourself and the prince to safety! Get him to the medical bay. Econi is on standby." Morando gently placed the prince in Fialkov's four arms and allowed him to retreat.

Vex, Oren, Morando and the guards worked swiftly to cut the Zerons off. They had gone too far in shooting the prince and they would pay one way or another.

Working as a team, they managed to corner the two hunters in a small corner of rocks that outlined the plateau. The hunters, not enjoying being cornered, fought back with a hostile ferocity.

"You will pay for what you've done today!" Oren raised his serrator spear and readied it for whatever was to come.

"Come quietly and we won't hurt you!" Morando lowered his weapons and raised his hands. For this plan to work, they would have to capture them not kill them. Even as much as they wanted to kill them.

The two Zerons looked at each other then both shrugged, readied their weapons and began to attack.

Meanwhile, Fialkov stumbled his way back up the ramp of the ship, holding Krel close for fear of dropping him. It was the one time Fialkov was able to get a good look at his son's face. Even though it had only been a couple of hours since he had been captured, Fialkov was amazed that Krel didn't have more injuries than he did.

But then he remembered the urgency he needed.

Krel's life depended on it.

Once inside, he hurried to the med bay where Econi, a tall slender Akiridion stood. She bowed and then gasped when she saw the bundle of a small body in his arms.

"Oh no! Put him down!" She gestured to a medical cot sitting behind her, "Better yet, since he's unconscious, why don't you sit down with him in your lap?"

Fialkov did as he was told and sat down with Krel seated in his lap. He leaned back against the headrest and Econi tilted it slightly to where the two of them were more parallel with the ground. Fialkov did his best to remain still but still cradling him close.

"He was hit with two gun blasts on his shoulders. Don't know what happened, but it caused him to fall unconscious quickly."

"Hmm. I'll take a look at them! Do you mind gently removing his shirt?" And she went about her work. Fialkov moved to do just that, gently pushing in Krel's four arms into the sleeves, and eventually pulling it over his head. Underneath he could see bruising on various parts of his chest, revealing a purple color which was in stark contrast to the blue color Akiridions were known for.

After seeing this, Econi moved to place wireless sensors onto several places on Krel's chest. On a holographic screen behind her, his vital signs appeared, monitoring Krel's every breath, core beat and injury.

She used a device that would listen to his breathing. Mumbling to herself, Fialkov overheard her say something about broken ribs that was causing his breath to be shaky, uneven, weak and shallow. Econi also cursed at the fact that there was no part of Krel's body that had come out unscathed. She quickly glanced at all his cuts, scrapes, abrasions and more and noted a few of them would require some sort of adhesive to stitch them back together.

Now she had arrived at his shoulders. She checked the open wounds and saw that they were still bleeding. Probably from the fact that these were the freshest wounds. Econi determined they too would need some adhesive. But in the meantime, Econi quickly brought a rag over and pressed it into the wound on Krel's left shoulder. She was quick to instruct Fialkov on what to do as she then continued checking Krel over.

Moving to his face and head now, she identified that the source of the swelling and discoloration was from a combination of a broken nose and the large gash that ran across his nose. It had long since stopped bleeding, but it needed to be bandaged for sanitary reasons.

"Ooh. It looks like his nose is broken for sure," She ran a finger down his face around the area where the cut was. Even in the midst of unconsciousness, Krel scrunched his face up and let out a small moan. It sounded more like a forced puff of air, but it was enough to get the two adults looking in his direction.

The both paused and waited as Krel's breaths quickened. He scrunched his face up once more before slowly bringing his hands to his face. He started to rub them, trying to will the unconscious mind to wake.

But Fialkov was quick to bring his own hands up to move Krel's away from his face. Krel's blue eyes opened revealing a very terrified, but also relieved look that flitted across his face in mere seconds.

"Papa?" Krel blinked a few times before staring up at Fialkov's face. Concern fleeing from it, he smiled the first relieved smile he felt he had given since he had learned that Krel had been kidnapped.

"I'm here son. I'm here!" And Fialkov couldn't resist the urge to hug Krel, tears streaming down both their faces as they did so, "You're safe now."

Krel felt sobs from both the intense pain coming from his shoulders and from the pure relief he had when he learned that he was in his father's arms. Fialkov let Krel cry into his shoulder as his own tears dripped onto his son's head.

"I was so scared, Papa! I...I have..." But Fialkov quieted him while he released his hold on his son.

"Shhh. You're fine! It's okay to be scared! Even I'm scared from time to time!"

Econi moved to where she met Fialkov's gaze. She held up a small device doctors used to inject something into their patient's blood stream. She tried to act out what the contents of the device held inside would do without Krel noticing, but she was unsuccessful. Krel turned and saw what she had in her hand a quickly grew panicked.

"Please don't do that to me!" He pressed harder into his father's body, all the while trying his best to get away from the device. Krel closed his eyes tightly in response, but movements were groggy, "I don't want to go to sleep again!

"Relax! This won't put you to sleep. Right, Econi?"

"This will just numb your body from the pain while I work to fix it," but Krel didn't budge from his position. He just remained close to his father.

Fialkov gestured for Econi to come behind Krel as he hugged him tightly with his other three arms. He then gently took the device from her hands, pressed it up against Krel's back and pulled the trigger. The pressure released in a quick his at the same time Krel let out a small yelp of surprise and tried once more to get away from it. But nothing was working. Fialkov was far too strong to allow an escape attempt.

It took a few minutes from the effects to take effect, but it was when Fialkov ran a hand up Krel's back to ease his shakes, did he realize that it had worked.

Econi noticed it too. Smiling she set about taking care of the deep cuts and the two blaster wounds on Krel's back.

Fialkov just held him close as Econi set out to do what she was brought along to do. He watched as she first put some ointment on the inside of the wound and then used a long piece of thread to sew it back together.

His gaze then slipped to the holo-screen floating above her head. He watched as the readings from the sensors rose and fall with the rise and fall of Krel's core beats and breaths.

To distract his mind from his son's injuries, Fialkov listened to what little he could hear of the sound of the battle raging on outside. He didn't know who was winning or if they had managed to capture the two Zerons, but he knew the fight was continuing on.

Quickly she finished cleaning all of Krel's cuts, scrapes and what other injuries he had sustained. Econi had even finished his stitching his face back together. White bandages wrapped around ever open wound, almost making Krel look like a giant pillow rather than a patient. She even put a blanket

"There! That should about do it!" She smiled as the duo both looked up at her, "Once we get back to the palace, I'll make sure that I come visit ever day till the prince is better."

"Thank you Econi! You are free to leave." She then bowed low and left the room.

"Are you feeling better?" Fialkov caught Krel's empty and exhausted gaze and gave his son a small smile.

"I..I have no...no clue. I can't feel my body," His words were slightly slurred and it became extremely clear that Krel was exhausted.

"Why don't you sleep?" He positioned Krel to where he was leaned comfortable up against his chest.

"That...that sounds like a good...plan," Krel was out like a light and was softly snoring, no thanks in part to the broken nose. Fialkov breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped that the two Zerons responsible would pay for the atrocities they did not only toward Krel, but also toward Akiridion royalty.

He started to doze off to the sound of the holo-screen monitor's signals. It signaled that Krel was alive. It didn't take long before Fialkov himself was asleep. Just father and son.

Fialkov smiled. He was just very thankful his son was in one piece.

 **Okay! Due to the length of this chapter, I will be writing the other perspective from Vex, Oren and Morando's POVs on this topic in another chapter. But it probably won't be the next one. I have other cuter things in mind. Anyway, thanks for reading and I am loving reading your comments! Seriously, if there is anything you would like to see appear in this story, PLEASE feel free to suggest it! :)**


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